Making A Resin Chess Board & Chess Set

[@nickzwa]

It may sound silly, but instead of felt. You could use clear packing tape. Its softer then acrilic so it should serve the same function, but transparent now :)

[@Rybonator]

^ This is a fantastic idea :D

[@kenabi]

alternatively the clear laminating rolls are soft, will absorb some impact stress and are still mostly see through.

[@TheNuclearBolton]

A clear 3M vinyl film used for paint protection on cars would be perfect for this.

[@TAiiNE]

When working with molds like this for the chess pieces, the best way to avoid voids is to tilt the mold to the side and pour slowly along the side allowing the resin to slowly fill in where it needs to go. Do this about halfway then tilt the mold around to help get resin into the nooks before filling it the rest of the way. Also, the best way to see how much resin you need is to just fill the molds with water then dump that into a measuring cup. Granted some molds like the chessboard can be a bit tricky but you can always dump it into a large bucket than that into the measuring cup to avoid spills.

[@Dudae_]

Regardless of density, volume is volume, especially with how imprecise this is. You can fill the molds with water and take that to a measuring cup and overshoot the mark a bit so you know you'll know the ballpark figure for resin too!

[@lcm361]

Alcohol. I don't think any resin maker wants water remotely near their molds.

[@cirrus.floccus]

@@lcm361 I have used this technique a couple of times and as long as you let your molds dry long enough after being in contact with water, there won't be problems. Usually you wanna wash your molds before you use them the first time anyways. Oftentimes there's little pieces of dust and dirt on there.

[@DimT670]

@@lcm361 meh, you just let em dry its no biggie

[@inacatt]

@@lcm361 Also not everyone can use alcohol for cleaning. For example, I have asthma that can be triggered by strong chemical vapors like alcohol or bleach. /notmad

[@lcm361]

@@inacatt damn... I hope you can find good replacements and be in peace with it

[@michaelhoffmann7111]

This was a really unique idea that turned out great. Now I'm curious, how would you improve on the mold considering how complex some pieces are with the all the little nooks and crannies?

[@Rybonator]

Honestly the best way to improve would be to SIMPLIFY the pieces. Design them around resin - No ridges, pull the knight's nose in etc. Nothing where bubbles and voids could easily trap :)

[@Echo-Of-Noise]

I have seen some two part molds too

[@lcm361]

@@Rybonator Wouldn't a pipet help?

[@nicolesewell7795]

@@lcm361 What is a pipet

[@lanceyoungblood9267]

@@lcm361 yeah i was gonna say this, just use a pipet to force resin into the space

[@tmntleo]

Oh hey I have those moulds, I made a chocolate chess set with them. The board cracked when I was getting it out but the good thing about chocolate is you can just melt it back together so that was easy done.

[@patrickhector]

Lemme guess, you eat every one of the opponent's pieces you take, winner gets the board?

[@laurenboyes7678]

@@patrickhector that is a cool idea tbh

[@xiongray]

The best part about it cracking is you can eat it.

[@Nick-up9tq]

When I made this, I would fill the pieces about half way. Then squeezed from the bottom to push out the voids/ air bubbles then slowly let released letting the resin flow back in. I then popped the bubbles and then filled the piece the rest of the way with the resin.

[@SeriousSara1]

I do that too but stil get bubbles and cracks

[@Rybonator]

Grab a MATE and play some CHESS with them! Wait... Chess... Why do they call it checkmate, it would have made for a much better pun if they called it chessmate. Then we could play some chess, Mate!

[@garionaolinger8752]

It is a pun To get a checkmate you need to make it so they dont see it coming so when it happens you tell them to look So your saying look mate... check mate... checkmate

[@jst1man]

Are you sure your not going to regret teaching your wife how to play chess? LOL

[@TheFrozenMoogle]

@@garionaolinger8752 two years late, its because in Idian/Arabian (I forgot which) of the medieval era, Checkmaqe (checkmate) means "Your king is dead"

[@drake4838]

8:02 the shot is amazing

[@Rybonator]

Not Gonna Lie- I was super proud of that one

[@stillnotstill]

Holy crap. Thanks for pointing that out, Drake! I'd watched this with my screen filter on since it was night and I was relaxing for bed, so I missed that'd the first time. I'm glad I got to see that!

[@QuizMasterEntertainment]

This was an honestly great idea, I love making custom stuff to make it feel more personal, also the effort in the process makes you value stuff more. I'm totally putting a chest board into my must do list

[@Verbatim8]

I love chess so much and have always wanted my own custom board, either made or bought and I’d love to do this! I love your content overall but this really hits home in a different way! Keep up the amazing work and have a lovely week!

[@Rybonator]

I'm glad you liked the video :) If you give it a shot, shoot me over some pictures! I'd love to see what you create :)

[@AzraelThanatos]

I've wanted to do the same...kept looking at the prince august site for a few years now and holding back because I didn't want to mess with melting pewter.

[@rachelhughes8487]

my mom got me this same mold for christmas! I can't wait to use it

[@Lwimmermastermetalart]

I think the best way is to spray a little mold release first. This will extend the life of the molds. Then I simply squeeze the molds a bit when they are about 3/4 full. Then top them off and use the lighter on them.

[@mooseandsquirrel7721]

I have this exact set. If you fill a bit and squeeze the bottoms several times slowly, it will stop those imperfections from happening. I also had a dollar tree acrylic makeup holder (16 spots). It helps stabilize them when putting them into the pot.

[@moonlight5050]

Fantastic project....love playing chess 😀 Re the bubbles in the mould...could you put a little bit of resin in then squidge it about with your fingers first then top it up..? Great project 👍 👌

[@Rybonator]

That's how I had to get the bubbles out of the Knight's nose section :) Also thank you!

[@moonlight5050]

@@Rybonator to be fair I knew you would do that....daft comment from me really...!!! 🤣🤣🤣 You know your stuff 👍👍

[@pippastrelle]

Ooh what a glass-like appearance on the blue resin.

[@Socrates458]

I’d like to see more resin projects like this from you. I appreciate you going out of your comfort zone with something like this.

[@Aerix]

Super cool and a lovely choice of colors. Would love to see a second attempt with a twist? Maybe painting the molds before resin, maybe floating/suspending objects or large glitter, maybe dirty pour marbeling, synthwave colors? Maybe opposite themes ocean (with fish and sea plants) vs volcanic ( obsidianish bottom with lava like tops)

[@Jerroxix]

Based entirely on what I've learned watching your videos for about 2 years now, a good way to avoid the voids might be to fill the pieces up slowly, part by part, to have resin sink to ends without air getting stuck. That or modify the molds to be more stable so you can slap the top to make the resin sink to the bottom like you did with your old molds in 2020. Man, I wish I could do that. I wanna do a Lime Green and Jet Black Chessboard set with the tiles being gold and white. Thanks for the non-dice resin content Rybo! Would love to see more.

[@yerwol]

With the bubbles showing up in the pieces, could you in theory put a bit of resin in first, rotate the mold around to coat the inside, and then fill the rest up so that it might have more chance to flow into the cavities in different directions?

[@Rybonator]

Yes and no - YES it could work, but by the time you get the rest of the resin in there, more air could have gotten into the gaps of the ridges. It'll definitely help, but I wouldn't say it's foolproof

[@rvaughan74]

@@Rybonator It occurred to me that you could try putting a small straw into the bubble to give it a path out of the resin allowing it to collapse. Though really it would only be effective with molds like this where you can see into them easily.

[@IRuleEverything101]

I wanna try this but with the scrabble resin mold set I saw on Amazon a bit ago lol. My aunt loves the game and I wanna make her a scrabble set for mothers day :)

[@Rybonator]

OH man, resin scrabble sounds awesome! I wanna give that a shot too

[@SPIDERx-cl5qj]

“Chess is just the original tabletop game” I love it, so true!!

[@beanny0268]

I love that you did this, because I have chess and Rumikub molds that have been sitting in my cart just WAITING for my next paycheck and I love watching as many videos as I can before attempting a new mold, LOL.

[@subject_phoenix4043]

That is the most satisfying thing when you pulled up the board mold and showed how smooth it was too, chef’s kiss

[@kirstindavis7025]

I have this same chess mold. For the voids in the ridges, fill the mold just past the ridges or anywhere also that gets voids and squish the mold wherever you can see a bubble. You can also go in with a toothpick and work the bubbles out as you pour.

[@Kristanite]

I've used these kinds of molds before but it was always shown to me that the lines were really to have guidelines for painting, I'm so impressed with how it turned out with actually pouring resin into them. Going to have to try that next time.

[@jdhawkins09]

Found this mold at hobby lobby yesterday. Making a set now.

[@kristopherbuchanan974]

Me too. How did it turn out? Also how long did you let the gold squares set before you add the other resin on top?

[@jdhawkins09]

@kristopherbuchanan974 just a couple hours at most. My resin had specific times for full cure and a time to add more to it without ruining the first layer

[@michaelpearson1272]

I turn my chamber up and down a few times to stop the resin or silicone from overflowing. I de gas before poring

[@шибкоумнаяоднако]

Actually, I don't love gold, but it's looks so good with this absolutely amazing blue! And what did Rybowife said? Did she liked this chess set, and the colour, and the idea of playing chess?

[@Rybonator]

She is excited to learn, and LOVES the blue :) So I'll call it a Win!

[@шибкоумнаяоднако]

@@Rybonator Cool! Good luck to her. Maybe one day she'll beat you and finally get back the lighter XD

[@kcarson4275]

Rybo, I made chess pieces with very similar molds about 6 months ago as a gift. To minimize the voids, I poured resin about 1/3 of the way in the molds. I then gently squeezed the molds to allow any trapped bubbles to rise before I filled them all the way. Used pvc pipe fittings to hold the molds upright in the pot..

[@Echo-Of-Noise]

I have been wanting to try these molds for a while, thanks for doing this video, I might get them now that I see they work well

[@Rybonator]

They are really nice :) Definitely worth it for only $20

[@blazehammer192]

That blue is spectacular

[@Rybonator]

Thanks! I always like that style blue with the liquid glitter :)

[@Windex451]

Chess board mold doubles as terrain mold? Not sure it would work or be worth the effort but that's always what I think when I see a grid.

[@rileyriley8123]

When the gold squares are cured before the blue is added they look like forbidden cheeze-its

[@kristopherbuchanan974]

I found out the hard way why they are forbidden… they taste really bad. Really hard to chew also

[@WhydTheyChangeOurNames]

This is beautiful and I saw on a box for a silicone mold I used that they used a chess piece and my first thought was "that's going to have bubbles" so I'm glad my inexperienced self let a pro like you prove that for me lol.

[@teresacooper1265]

Hello all, thank you for sharing. I don't have a pressure cooker or anything special. I have this same set. I was able to fill up the chess pieces about 3/4 the way up, then squeeze out any air bubbles that you can see that are trapped. Once you're finished fill up the remainder and get any surface bubbles that might appear. They come out perfect with no voided spots. It just takes a little extra time.

[@1970ADH]

I had the little divets on my Pawns, so I put a little bit of resin back into the mould and then pushed them back in. The next day I pulled them out and the divets were filled😁 The Knights on the other hand, I had trouble filling the bottom jaw of the horse😒

[@coucamaya]

Hey Rybonator drop a few drops of menthylated spirits (I think you guys call it denatured alcohol) into the mold before pouring your resin. I use molds like this all the time, and it helps break that surface tension and removes bubbles from those small recessed areas. The alcohol will then just rise to the surface as you pour and can be burn off with a lighter or it will just evaporate on its own

[@pedro_8240]

Next time make a board with an induction coil inside and put one of those wireless LEDs on each piece, bonus points if you manage to put RGB LEDs inside to make the pieces extra fast.

[@juliasherwood697]

YES i’ve been wanting to make a resin chess set!

[@Rybonator]

The molds make it super easy :) Give it a shot!

[@Verity_Reigns]

This set is so lovely! I hope Rybowife enjoys learning how to play and that you two can have many epic chess games together.

[@nolzymama]

I would love to see you make The Royal Game of Ur out of resin (the true original tabletop game)!

[@nayabaya09]

so i just bought this mold set and found that if you squeeze the chess pieces when you add the resin, you will fill those voids Good work Rybo!

[@lordquinn1605]

Beautiful Chess Set

[@Rybonator]

Thanks Quinn! Glad you like it :)

[@marcinbaczynski6954]

I have those molds. In places that you expect the voids to create I was filing half of the mold, then squeezing it with my fingers so the trapped air moves up and then I added the rest of the resin to the top. +Pressure pot. To secure them from tipping I used some plasticine

[@brandonjenkins6062]

I bought the same chess mold myself. I pretty much did the board the same way. But I've found on the pieces, if you pinch the bottom of the mold and fill about a quarter of the way up then slowly unpinch, it will pull the resin into those voids getting all those hard to fill areas. On some of the pieces (king and queen mainly) I found I had to pinch 2-5 times to get all the cavities completely full. Appreciate your work and great ideas, keep it up!

[@brandonjenkins6062]

I also got the checkers pieces as well to go with and they look great as well. Easy to do.

[@rebeccasabourin6193]

Love to see more of these. So good.

[@Rybonator]

Thanks Rebecca :) Glad you liked it!

[@darrinkleyla1587]

I have these molds. The trick is to only fill the mold 2/3 full, then pinch the "heads" of each piece. The big bubbles will rise and pop. Then fill up the mold. For the pressure pot, I put the molds into PVC pipe pieces, usually 1 inch in diameter (except for the knights). This has allowed me to get perfectly clear pieces. Too bad you can't post pics here, but it does work.

[@Little_Miss_Carrex]

Showing what the result are without a presure pot or vacuum chamber is very much appreciated!

[@lifestyleofapennypincher7309]

I love your detailed commentary. Thanks

[@woodsy2232]

yo i just got the same molds my self i have done 3 tests so far, to avoid the holes very easy either use a toothpick and mix it around the bubble area ooor squeeze the mold softly around the areas prone with holes, most of the time its the horses lower jaw, pawns rims/top, castles tops or rims, crown and cross, its a 1 to 5 min job depending on how you take it and and bubbles want to work with you, i just got my first perfect backline done today and am so happy also no i do not have any kind of pressure device all hands and a simple smoke shop jet lighter for top bubbles.

[@HeavenlyBeast89]

This turned out beautiful! I was wondering if you've ever made a matte set of anything? Could you possibly do a video on that?

[@__8120]

Oh my god that board looks absolutely amazing

[@AllTheWayLiveFrom_215]

this came out beautiful. i just made my first one last night and its not this pretty. im gonna try again!!!! thanks for sharing

[@truffeltroll6668]

Man, i love that blue. Great project! (I'd love to see that colour again)

[@jamesdriggs4951]

I use an LED flashlight on the table to observe the ridges and can see the bubbles or air pockets easily in the ridges. I fill the mold to just above the ridge and squeeze the bubbles to the top. I use a small long bar (one used to scoop mica powder) and reach into the top of the rook, bishop, king and queen to force the resin into it. Then I put them in a mold holder I found on Etsy and finish them off. It takes me about 130ml to do a complete side

[@WylochsArmory]

Beautiful

[@11thShadowDragon]

That transition was flawless, and surprised me but pleasantly x'D Been a while since I've watched one of your videos, glad you're still goin' at it! Resin is still a suuuuper tempting hobby... oh the things I could make.

[@xxPenjoxx]

I'm normally of the same opinion as you (team gold every time) but dayum that blue looks so good! Definitely worth the extra time removing the bubbles, they look like glass. Awesome project 👏

[@leihua907123]

I’m about to try and make these waiting for my molds I was wondering if you have any tips on the best way to demold these?

[@jacobwashington7658]

I enjoyed the video, and the way you cut that sponsor in was absolutely amazing.

[@aimeevanlandingham3844]

Two years later, there is a small rack that will hold the pieces straight. It should show up in the 'other options ' when buying the chess mold.

[@lcm361]

Amazing work! Loving the glamour shots. About the bubbles in the pieces mods. Wouldn't a pipet do the trick? Applying resin slowly and getting to the details by directing the flow of the resin.

[@wesleyboyer6654]

I like to squish molds like these as i pour in the resin. It squeezes the air out and pulls the resin in deeper when you release them.

[@QuarionGalanodel]

I don't know how well it will work but for the top-heavy ones you could try putting them into dixy cups and then filling around them with vey fine sand. That would help them stand upright but I don't know if the sand might deform the final product if the mold walls are too thin.

[@ItsTheGofa]

Wow I love the colors you chose, they go together perfectly. Really impressed by how the pieces turned out, and the board looked amazing. Great job Rybo !!!

[@nicolelavigne1700]

It looks fantastic! Gorgeous set.

[@brennanrodriguez122]

You say they don't tell you the volume you need, well here I am to give you the greatest hint of your LIFE Pour water into each mold you wanna fill, then collect all the water in something with measurements. Use that for volume. It also helps because it exposes issues with how the molds will hold fluid when full if there are any, which is much better to find out with water instead of curing resin.

[@lemmonsinmyeyes]

I play alot of chess, never thought of making a set, now I'm really keen on the idea, thanks for sharing!

[@afrothekobold]

rewatching this, I've made a few chess sets and IDK if it's the resin I used but if not stored on a flat surface (especially if you're in a humid area) the board might warp. Not 100% sure how to fix that except for maybe putting something in the mold to act as reinforcement. Maybe something like wooden dowels on the edges or make the bottom opaque with a layer of popcicle sticks or something.

[@mirrorballmusings]

That sparkly blue came out so nice! 💋👌🏾 What a great board.

[@WarlordSh4Dow]

Hey Rybo, I've found the best way to find out the volume of resin I need for a new mold is fill them with water, then pour them all into a measuring cup. Just got to make sure they're all dry before pouring the resin in! Hope that helps save some resin or stress in future!

[@woodsy2232]

for anyone who does not have a vacuum, you can also boil a jug of water wait till its hot but not hot enough you cant put a finger in. put in your cup of resin in to the hot bath and let it deegass it, wont get all of it out and can speed up your resin depending on its temp

[@garyl3609]

Try squeeze the silicon mould gently to remove any bubbles. It was suggested

[@celestevolschenk9110]

Oooo pretty! I want to try making this! The set came out really nice! I can imagine the many many stunning possibilities, like including dried flowers into the pieces and the board! Amazon doesn't ship to my country, sadly so I'll need to find an alternative.

[@teagan_p_999]

AliExpress? They have tons of cheap resin molds.

[@waynethewinewizard]

I really love this channel! I’ve gotten inspired to make my own dice and resin projects. Have you ever made a clear resin dice roller tower? If not would love an Instructional video on it!!

[@jst1man]

Other things you can do to get bubbles out are start little pour and finish big so you can shift the resin. Also isopropyl alcohol is good for pooping bubble and you don't have to watch it.

[@johnc1963]

You should make Mario Kart item box dice!

[@Rybonator]

Oh that's actually really cool! I like that idea

[@johnc1963]

@@Rybonator I’ve had the idea for a while, but I’m very new to resin casting so I don’t think I could pull it off myself. XD

[@ashtenchacon5303]

aaaw making it w both ur favorites colors to teach her how to play!!!!! i hope she liked it and u guys had fun playing chess together!!

[@roxoriginal732]

Little tip how to handle the voids.when you pour the resin into the chess piece mould get a tooth pick in there and prod the bottom of the mould to push that resin in and release the air from it .works well .love the set you done good job and clear resin,think I’m gonna invest in one of these moulds 👌👌👌👌

[@ShatoraDragondore]

An idea to help with the voids. You said you would take a tooth pick to your box mold and lift and push resin to make sure it got under the lip. Would doing something like that, squishing and pushing on the molds help to get resin down in the nooks and bits. Perhaps doing smaller layers rather then one go?

[@kairon156]

Haven't played Chess in a while but I do appreciate a well made set like this one.

[@naterogo2136]

Have you tried syringes for pouring those repetitive spaces, small areas, etc., before? I fine they hold a lot of resin and the control of the flow is nice.

[@antonianosanta]

Very cool job! The board looks gorgeous

[@steveskinner8088]

Squeezing the bottom of the chess pieces will push air to the top. A vacuum pot is critical to pull all the air from the epoxy to get solid pieces.

[@ivy.t.t]

Hell chess is the original wargame, not just any tabletop game, knights as a good mobile unit, pawns for the front line, fortresses, kings and queens, they just happened to have fallen into a very abstract design, although wikipedia essentially writes the definition in a way specifically to exclude chess

[@rickmarr8784]

would pouring for the pieces sections at a time and using a syringe work to eliminate those pockets of air bubbles?

[@Sootielove]

These are gorgeous! The colour combinations go so well together, you're lucky as husband and wife

[@wavydre8547]

Yeah this is cool to see, I also made a chess set when I first started getting into this resin stuff. Haven’t made a 2nd one yet because of the insane amount of resin it uses haha. Edit: yeah the open faces aren’t great but it’s easy to sand flat of there’s any bubbles etc.

[@apple11117]

I plan to try to make one of these in a few weeks, but do you have any ideas for another color that could go well with gold? I think the gold turned out great, but I would like to make it with another color, any ideas? Incredible work!

[@jadertot2080]

Honestly, if that board has the right grid measurements, then it has some serious D&D map potential.. Either a clear resin one to show a printed map underneath, or maybe fully detailed with terrain like dirt and grass or rocks for fun. Do you know if dry erase marker works on resin? Hahaha

[@katherinegorlesky5705]

Where could I get the vacuum chamber? Or the pressure pot? I want to buy one as a Christmas present for my hubs!

[@TheLukemcdaniel]

Would it help to sqeeze the nose of the knight before you start pouring, then when you have some resin in, let off so it sucks the resin into the cavity?

[@jaxophone9057]

Great vid as always ryb!

[@Rybonator]

Thanks Jaxson :) I appreciate that!

[@radamentro]

I think that if you pour slowly at an angle to let the resin push out the air, you would minimize the chance of catching bubbles at the bottom of the mold.

[@lisaroper421]

It looks so cool! I am glad your wife is looking forward to trying! Chess is not my favorite strategy game, but ya gotta know it a bit!

[@mekamo7358]

Totally loved your humor 😂 and the board lol

[@alphaferretz5555]

Dyslexia for the win 🤣 I read cheese

[@Rybonator]

I mean, a cheese board sounds lovely haha

[@psycoNaughtplaysMCPC]

Would piping the resin through a pipet or syringe help remedy the void/bubble issues for the molds? I feel like simply pouring it leads to that problem, I dunno, I may be wrong

[@jonflanagin6682]

Easy way to check volume is to pore water into the molds, then pore the water into a measuring cup.

[@Swayiera]

I'm planning on making this, do u recommend a certain type of resin? can you also upload a short upate of how the chess board and pieces look right now? I'm worried about yellowing since I'm going to be gifting this.